Health Fairs

Why Worksite Health and Wellness Program follow up?

Getting feedback from Worksite Health and Wellness Program participants serves two purposes: to obtain information that quantifies a Wellness Program’s impact, and to find ways to improve a Worksite Health and Wellness Program.

Building follow up into your Worksite Health and Wellness Program

Keep it simple
• Keep follow up to information you absolutely require. A three-question survey is more likely to get a response than one with 20 questions.
• Use email or phone for follow-up. Use personal, AKO, and installation email addresses; use cell phone and unit phone numbers.
• Go to the Employees: go to the unit or somewhere else they will all be gathered (like the APFT test location), and get follow up information there.
• Give participants a stamped envelope addressed to you, with a printed form listing the information you will need.

Keep it structured
• Tell participants right from the beginning that you will be doing follow up after the Worksite Health and Wellness Program is finished. Be specific about the information you will collect.
• If you need to do hands-on measurements, find out if participants will be coming back to your location for another reason (like another clinic appointment). Ask them to stop by while they are in the building – or, better yet, go to where they will be.
• Ask participants where they will be the next time you will be collecting information. They may already know their next duty station if they will be PCSing soon.
• Plan ahead for follow up and put it on the schedule. Planning to do follow up “when you have time” usually means follow up will never get done.

Keep it catchy
• Give participants something to go along with the request for information. By way of example, if you send an email to ask for information, send along a yummy recipe or a timely fitness tip.
• Schedule a ‘reunion’ day to collect follow up information. Invite participants to come back and share successes and challenges. Have some (healthy) munchies available.
• Have a silly contest – the team with the most follow up information wins something, like having their photos posted on a prominently-placed bulletin board or an eggplant trophy, or some other fun thing.